Gunman dies after US hospital siege
A gunman died after he opened the door to his Illinois hospital room at the end of a four-and-a-half-hour stand-off early today and pointed his gun at police, who opened fire.
The 58-year-old man, Johnnie Russell, died of a gunshot wound to the head. He appeared to have shot himself, but police were still investigating, Aurora Police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said.
“We can’t confirm that he committed suicide. And we can’t confirm that he fired a shot first,” Ferrelli said. “We do know he raised his gun. One of our police officers fired upon him when he did that.”
That officer, a 12-year veteran of the Aurora Police Department, has been placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of an investigation.
Police had also fired tear gas before entering the room and finding the man dead on the floor.
The gunman had briefly held a 71-year-old patient hostage in the room at Provena Mercy Medical Centre, but released him unharmed after police intervened. No one else was injured.
Authorities were first called to the scene on a report of an “unruly patient”, Aurora police chief William Powell said.
The first officer to reach the floor where the man had barricaded himself reported that the man said he wanted police to shoot him.
Authorities had relocated 26 patients the floor and locked down the hospital, about 30 miles west of Chicago.
Hospital chief executive Bill Brown refused to release any information about the dead patient, citing patient confidentiality laws.
“Patient care and safety was never interrupted or compromised and things are back to normal at our hospital right now,” Brown said.
Hospital officials were planning to review security policies, Brown said.
